


The Phantom and the Daroga

by Johannah



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Castiel as the Daroga, Dean Winchester as Phantom, F/F, F/M, M/M, Supernatural AU - Freeform, historical accuracy is hard
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-17
Updated: 2016-03-17
Packaged: 2018-05-27 07:38:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6275521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Johannah/pseuds/Johannah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>DISCLAIMER: 1) no knowledge of the Phantom of the Opera story is needed, as this is a loose interpretation of the book, non-canon book sequels and the musical.  2) This is not a Phantom/Christine pairing fic, because Christine is awesome and she'll be played by Charlie Bradbury. </p><p>DESCRIPTION: After his father brands him as a demon and sells him to a freak show, Dean Winchester is forced to live his life behind a mask. Follow our (anti)hero on his journey through his trials, several countries, careers, and all the friends and enemies he picks up on the way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Phantom and the Daroga

**Author's Note:**

> Overture: an introduction to set up this story!

# Chapter I: Overture

 

_France, 1840s-1850s_

Ah Paris, paradise of poets, artists,  musicians, liberals and bon-vivants. Ah, Paris, playground of the poor, the stink of industrialism swirling around the city in fumes so thick and black as the night sky, the slums rotting in their filth, the river spreading choleric disease everywhere it ran, and worst of all, the capital of political revolutions.

It is no wonder then that all Dean Winchester remembers even before his baby brother was born, is taking care of people. At first there was his mother, in vulnerable health ever since the journey from America to France she undertook with her husband John and their friends, the Harvelles. As he got older, there was also an elderly couple who they rented their room from, who thanked him kindly for all the small tasks he could perform to spare their tired eyes and shaky hands. Later still, he would not only be watching over his brother, but also babysit the daughters from their Romanian upstairs neighbours and Joanna Beth occasionally, and help out in the bakery under their rooms, smelling like apple pie when getting home after a long day, satisfied of being able to contribute to their family even if it was just a couple of cents.

Then, however, came along Napoleon IIII and his urban planner, baron Haussmann. Soon enough, slums were being torn down to make place for grand lanes and big mansions. Moving from place to place, living conditions going from bad to worse, and the stress of keeping everyone in the family fed, Mary’s health declined until her body refused to cooperate. For Dean, the worst part wasn’t that his father blamed him for her death (claiming that, as man of the house in his absence, he should’ve been able to prevent it), started drinking, got them moved out to a tiny village near Paris and then promptly started to neglect him and Sam. The worst part wasn’t leaving Paris and it’s opportunities to make some money, to leave its lively atmosphere and charming but run-down buildings behind. What kept Dean up at night, was the guilt eating him alive: Sam would never get to know their mom. He wouldn’t have any memories of her on his own; wouldn’t remember her warm embrace, her loving care, her smile, her love for the apple pies Dean would sometimes manage to sneak out of the bakery, or how she would sing them lullabies when her voice was strong enough. Her angelic voice was definitely what he would miss the most.

Life outside of Paris was rougher. The air was decidedly cleaner, but labour a lot heavier. With their father disappearing sometimes for months at a time, Dean has had to find ways to make money. At least from time to time they get a visit from Ellen Harvelle with her daughter Jo, to make sure they’re not starving. Visits become less frequent over the years, especially when Bill Harvelle unexpectedly dies. The last time Jo visited, she made it clear she would never come back again, and that his father was to blame for Bill’s death. It’s the first he heard of what his father’s been up to: he had been on a ‘holy war’ to purify to country from "the evil festering within".

At age twelve, Dean thought that he knew what to expect of the world; that he had already seen the cruelest things to this life. He couldn’t possibly have foreseen the sixteen year old son of their neighbour blatantly flirting with him. Or that he would enjoy the loving attention of the other boy. It came to him entirely by surprise then, when the boy kissed him. However what he could never have anticipated, was John arriving home for his monthly crash, shocked to see the scene before him. To burst out in flaming fury and beating him so violently, that the last thing he remembers before he lost consciousness, is wondering which bones in his body were left to break. He woke up one more time, to hear his father beg God for forgiveness for raising a sodomite, a demon, and to give him strength for exercising the evil out of his son forever. He heard the branding iron before he feels it. It’s as if his face is boiling; it’s like the hell-fire his father is claiming he belongs in. He passed out one more time, and he’s not sure if his father’s last words are an order to leave the village and never come back, or that he dreamed it and that it was sort of implied when he wakes up in a cage in a dark carriage, and he realizes he’s been sold off.


End file.
